Rahul Gandhi's claim has been called into question, nevertheless, by the chronology of events.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi stirred political waters on Saturday after alleging that the late BJP stalwart and former Union Minister Arun Jaitley once threatened him over his opposition to the controversial farm laws. The statement by Rahul Gandhi triggered a sharp rebuttal from Jaitley's son, Rohan Jaitley, and strong denials from the BJP, who accused the Congress leader of spreading misinformation.
Rahul Gandhi recalled an incident during the farm laws protests while speaking at the Annual Legal Conclave 2025. “I remember when I was fighting the farm laws, Arun Jaitley was sent to me to threaten me. He said, ‘If you carry on opposing the government, fighting the farm laws, we will have to act against you.’ I looked at him and said, ‘I don’t think you have an idea who you are talking to,’” Gandhi told the gathering.
Rahul Gandhi's claim has been called into question, nevertheless, by the chronology of events. In 2020, the three controversial farm legislations were adopted, and Arun Jaitley died on August 24, 2019. Several BJP leaders, including Jaitley's son Rohan Jaitley, quickly brought attention to this obvious chronological discrepancy.
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Rohan Jaitley, who currently heads the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), responded with a detailed social media post defending his father’s legacy. “Rahul Gandhi now claims my late father, Arun Jaitley, threatened him over the farm laws. Let me remind him, my father passed away in 2019. The farm laws were introduced in 2020. More importantly, it was not in my father’s nature to threaten anyone over an opposing view. He was a staunch democrat and always believed in building consensus. If at all such a situation were to occur, as it often does in politics, he would invite free and open discussions to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for all. That was simply who he was, and that remains his legacy today,” he said.
He further urged Rahul Gandhi to refrain from invoking deceased leaders in political narratives. “He attempted something similar with Manohar Parrikar ji, politicising his final days, which was in equally poor taste. Let the departed Rest in Peace,” Rohan added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party was quick to back the late leader’s son. Amit Malviya, BJP IT Cell head, took to X (formerly Twitter) to call Gandhi’s statement “fake news.”
“Fake News Alert. Rahul Gandhi claims that Shri Arun Jaitley approached him to water down his opposition to the 2020 Farm Laws. Let’s set the record straight: Arun Jaitley ji passed away on 24 August 2019. The draft Farm Bills were brought to the Union Cabinet on 3 June 2020. The laws were enacted in September 2020,” Malviya wrote.
He also asked the Congress leader to stick to facts and “rewrite timelines.”
